Barony

Barony is a roguelike that, on the surface, does not appear to be a demanding title, yet the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 reveal a wide performance envelope that shifts dramatically based on resolution and graphics preset. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly powerful for this game at lower resolutions, but which still exhibits a clear, predictable scaling curve as pixel count and visual fidelity increase. This analysis examines the measured FPS across three resolutions and four settings, interpreting what the numbers say about the roles of the GPU and CPU, and which configurations offer the most sensible experience.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a substantial and consistent reduction in average frame rate, indicating that Barony, despite its genre, becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution rises. At the High preset, the system delivers 383 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 242 FPS at 1440p, and further to 126 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at High settings, demonstrating that the RTX 4080’s rendering workload scales significantly with pixel count. The data indicates that at 1080p, the frame rate is so high that the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to produce over 380 frames per second.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 600 FPS, which is likely a ceiling imposed by the game engine or CPU processing, rather than the GPU’s raw capability. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 379 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 198 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Low is 221 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Low is 181 FPS, suggesting that the performance penalty per additional pixel is not linear but rather reflects the growing dominance of GPU shading and memory bandwidth constraints at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 446 FPS at 1080p, 281 FPS at 1440p, and 147 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a measured minimum of 125 FPS and maximum of 169 FPS, giving a 44 FPS variance, which is the largest spread among all 4K measurements, indicating some scene-dependent complexity. The Ultra preset, which represents the highest visual load, shows the steepest drop: 274 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and only 91 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measurement in the entire dataset that falls below 100 FPS, confirming that even a top-tier GPU like the RTX 4080 can be brought to its knees by maxing out settings at 4K in this game.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-limited, as the frame rates across all presets are extraordinarily high, and the differences between Low (600 FPS) and Ultra (274 FPS) are more about the GPU’s workload than a CPU bottleneck. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, and the scaling from Low (198 FPS) to Ultra (91 FPS) shows a 54% drop, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The component that limits performance shifts from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K, with 1440p representing a balanced zone where both components contribute to the final frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a formidable piece of hardware, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus. The memory configuration provides a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is crucial for feeding the 9728 shading units and 112 ROPs at high resolutions. In Barony, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly apparent as resolution increases, with the 4K Ultra preset (91 FPS) being the only scenario where the GPU’s limits are truly tested. The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 4080 maintains playable frame rates even at Ultra settings, but the jump from Medium (147 FPS) to Ultra (91 FPS) represents a 38% performance penalty, which is a significant cost for the highest visual quality.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz, are high for a 40-series card, and the 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Barony, which is a roguelike and unlikely to exceed 8 GB of memory usage even at 4K Ultra. The measured results indicate that VRAM capacity is not a bottleneck in any of the tested configurations, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings rather than exhibiting sudden drops that would indicate memory swapping. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS and the texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are likely the key drivers of the GPU’s ability to handle the game’s pixel and texel throughput at 4K.

Benchmark results for the RTX 4080 show it ranks in the 86th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, a delta of 0.1%, meaning the standard 4080 is essentially identical in performance to its SUPER variant. In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.6% higher than the 4080, a surprising result given the 4080’s higher tier, but this is an average across all benchmarks and may not reflect Barony-specific performance. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 34457 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 reinforce that this is a high-end card, but the Barony measurements show that even such hardware can produce a 91 FPS average when pushed to 4K Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile high-end desktop chip. In Barony, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are so high that the processor becomes the limiting factor. The 600 FPS result at 1080p Low is likely a hard cap imposed by the game’s engine or the CPU’s ability to process game logic and draw calls, as the RTX 4080 is certainly capable of rendering more frames if the CPU could keep up.

The i7-13700K’s single-thread performance is strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2116 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2529, which are critical for a game like Barony that may rely on a main thread for game state updates. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and 2-thread score of 2262 indicate that the CPU’s high boost clock is effective for lightly-threaded workloads. The multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and a PassMark multithread score of 45887, but Barony is unlikely to utilize all 24 threads, so the single-thread performance is more relevant to the measured FPS.

The CPU’s percentile vs. all CPUs is 89, with an average benchmark score of 46881, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, scores 46971, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i7-13700K is essentially tied with that competitor. The data indicates that at 1440p, the CPU still has a role, as the frame rates at High (242 FPS) and Medium (281 FPS) are high enough that the CPU’s per-core performance contributes to maintaining these numbers. At 4K, the CPU is less of a factor, as the GPU’s rendering workload dominates, and the frame rates are lower, giving the CPU more time to process each frame. The 16 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but for Barony, the key takeaway is that the i7-13700K’s single-thread boost of 5.40 GHz is what enables the exceptionally high 1080p frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and the user’s preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Medium preset is the best choice for most users, as it delivers 446 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of any consumer monitor, while the Ultra preset at 274 FPS offers a marginal visual improvement for a 39% reduction in frame rate. The Low preset at 600 FPS is unnecessary for practical use, as it provides no real-world benefit over Medium, given that both are well above 240 Hz. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, the High preset at 383 FPS is also a strong option, but Medium offers a better balance of fidelity and performance.

At 1440p, the High preset at 242 FPS is the sweet spot, providing excellent visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of most 1440p gaming monitors, which typically top out at 165 Hz or 240 Hz. The Medium preset at 281 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset at 173 FPS is the best choice for users with a 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitor who want the highest visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The Low preset at 379 FPS is overkill for 1440p, as it reduces visual quality significantly without a noticeable performance benefit in most scenarios. The data suggests that Ultra at 1440p is the highest setting that still guarantees a locked 144 FPS experience.

At 4K, the High preset at 126 FPS is the recommended choice for a balance of quality and performance, as it comfortably exceeds the 120 Hz threshold and provides good visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 147 FPS is even better for users with a 144 Hz 4K monitor, offering a 17% performance advantage over High with a modest reduction in quality. The Ultra preset at 91 FPS is only suitable for users with a 90 Hz or 60 Hz 4K display who prioritize maximum visual quality over frame rate, and the Low preset at 198 FPS is unnecessary, as the visual compromise is too steep for the frame rate gain. Overall, the Medium preset provides the best experience across all resolutions, offering high frame rates that are always at least 147 FPS at 4K and 446 FPS at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the fastest measured configuration in the dataset?

A: The fastest measured configuration is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, achieving an average of 600 FPS. This is likely a CPU or engine cap, as the RTX 4080 has the raw power to render more frames.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 capable of running Barony at 4K Ultra with high frame rates?

A: No, the data shows that at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 91, which is below the 100 FPS threshold. This is the only configuration that falls below 100 FPS, indicating the GPU is heavily stressed at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its nearest rival in average CPU benchmarks?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, while its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, scores 46971, a delta of -0.2%. This means the two processors are statistically tied in average performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The minimum FPS for the 2560x1440 Medium preset is 239, with a maximum of 324, giving an average of 281 FPS. This indicates consistent performance with a 85 FPS variance between min and max.

Q: Does the GPU’s VRAM capacity become a bottleneck in Barony?

A: No, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient. The frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, showing no sudden drops that would indicate VRAM exhaustion, even at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the single-thread performance of the i7-13700K?

A: The i7-13700K scores 2116 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2529 in Geekbench single-core. This strong single-thread performance is likely the reason for the exceptionally high 1080p frame rates, where the CPU is the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers extraordinary performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 600 FPS, which is the highest measurement in the dataset. The Medium preset follows with an average of 446 FPS, a minimum of 379 FPS, and a maximum of 513 FPS. The High preset averages 383 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 274 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the GPU has ample headroom to render more frames if the processor could deliver them.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but begin to show the GPU’s increasing workload. The Low preset averages 379 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 281 FPS, with a minimum of 239 FPS and a maximum of 324 FPS. The High preset averages 242 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 173 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 206 FPS, which is a 54% reduction, showing that the GPU’s rendering load has a significant impact at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Low preset averages 198 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. The High preset averages 126 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 91 FPS, which is the only configuration in the dataset to fall below 100 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 107 FPS drop, or a 54% reduction, mirroring the percentage drop seen at 1440p, but with absolute numbers that are significantly lower. The data confirms that 4K Ultra is a demanding workload for even the RTX 4080, while 1080p is CPU-bound, and 1440p represents the balanced middle ground.